Dean: Nash, welcome to Stickman Comics’ Sound Expansion! I’ve been looking forward to this interview with you dude, and I got my ‘autographed’ picture of ‘Constable Nash’ signed “Listen in safety” …Nash the Slash - right here in front of me! (no…Rich…you can’t have it!) Anyway…back to earth! Nash, what’s happening with you these days? I know you’ve been touring around North America, and you said you were at a rock fest out West just a few weeks ago…can you tell us a little bit about what a Nash the Slash gig would be like in 2002?
Nash: A few weeks ago I was in Winnipeg Canada performing at the 29th annual Winnipeg Folk Festival. This is a very eclectic event and I was invited to perform 'Nosferatu' in the campground at 1:30 in the morning. The audience sprawled out on a field under the stars and it was a very memorable event for both the audience and myself.
D: Just for the sake of anyone who’s just now been introduced to Nash the Slash, can you tell us in a nutshell what Nash the Slash is all about…what is it about Nash the Slash that you just won’t find in any other act out there? Oh, and…say a word about your record that you
can play at any speed!
N: That's a very large nutshell! I have a classical background and I
love Rock and Electronic. I like to express all of my musical influences so there is a very broad range of music in my repertoire. 'Nosferatu' is instrumental, spacey classical while 'Thrash' is vocal, rock and droll. As a live performer, I am very into theatrics so my live persona wears bandages, dark glasses, tails and a top hat. To understand WHY I do this, read the info at nashtheslash.com.
In 1982 I released an LP called 'Decomposing' which consisted of four instrumental pieces that were playable at any speed. Because there were no vocals, the music didn't sound different just heavier. Being the first recording to declare itself 'playable at any speed', the LP got a lot of attention and was even reviewed in Playboy magazine.
D: I remember that wild little controversy with ‘Pepsi’…how did that all play out in the end?
N: In 1984, Pepsi in Canada did a TV commercial with a butler-type character dressed in tails, dark glasses and wearing bandages. In the first few weeks of its appearance, the ad had people wondering if I had done the commercial. I was approached by an entertainment lawyer to challenge Pepsi and their look-alike Nash. At first they ignored any legal requests, but the publicity got hotter when I sued them for One Million Dollars for 'Misappropriation of Personality'. In Canada, one has the right to claim copyright on your face or image. Without going to court, Pepsi pulled the commercial, they paid my legal fees plus a sum I would have received had I done the commercial. I also got all that free publicity. What do Nash the Slash and Michael Jackson have in
common? They both got burned by Pepsi.
D: Back when, I read Praying To The Aliens- Gary Numan’s autobiography, and he speeks very fondly of you; do you realize how much of a following you have back in the UK, many of which are ‘Numanoids’? Whenever your name was mentioned, I got nothing but really positive reactions. Is there a chance that you’ll go over there some time for some gigs? Maybe even with “Nosferatu” ? They’ve been asking!
N: I had a great time working with Gary. How many rock stars do you know who go on tour with their parents? Gary's mom Berryl used to
say to me before I went on stage, 'Nash, have you polished your shoes?' She would also organize everyone's dry cleaning. It sounds corny, but I felt like I was their adopted son.
I was recently in Sweden and St.Petersburg Russia performing 'Nosferatu' so I hope to be back in the UK before too long. These things have to be organized through agents, etc, so I'm waiting to get the connections together.
D: 'Nosferatu'! This is not just run of the mill 'stuff'- I mean, I can only imagine how much is involved musically in providing a soundtrack for this classic B/W silent film. Can you tell us a bit about what's involved - the initial writing of the score, and then how this comes alive on stage!
N: Writing music for silent films is a particular art-form. As the movie proceeds through the drama, the composer must work with themes according to repeated images, such as the lovers, the villain, etc. Other images need to be enhanced with subtle sound effects such as animal sounds like crickets chirping at night. It all adds to the atmosphere. Most silent films have a poor collection of classical music pieces tacked on with no continuity. It makes these silent movies almost unwatchable. It took me 5 months to compose the score for 'Nosferatu'. There are repeated classical themes, sound effects, and Nash Thrash with a drum machine.
To present this live, the bed-tracks minus the violin and mandolin are striped onto the video to assure synchronization. I then perform live on violin and mandolin. There is also dramatic lighting on myself at the side of the stage.
D: During your performance, how do you blend in your stage presence with the film?
N: I use slide projectors for the side lighting and I have designed some very dramatic slides to illuminate my presence at the side of the screne. I don't pretend to be a film historian. I am working with this film as a form of entertainment, so my presence on stage is more dramatic than having an old-time piano player in the orchestra pit. These silent movies have many restored editions, some of which are twenty to thirty minutes longer than the print I worked with. My score doesn't work with the longer versions and I'm not going to attempt to pick up the flavour by adding more music. I think for my purposes, the presentation works very well.
D: Can we expect another project of this 'genre'? (Nosferatu)
N: I have previously created scores for 3 other silent film classics. 'Nosferatu' happens to be number 4 the latest. Un Chien Andalou' 1925 Salvador Dali/ Luis Bunuel (France ) 18 minutes 'The Lost World' 1925, dinosaurs by Willis O'Brien, creator of King Kong, 8 yrs. later ( USA ) 58 minutes 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' 1919 ( Germany ) 55 minutes I am currently using 'Un Chien Andalou' as the 'opening act' for 'Nosferatu.
I first performed live to Un Chien Andalou at The Roxy Theatre in Toronto, March 16, 1975. I am now working with a restored digital print and a re-recorded soundtrack.
D: Any chance of a DVD release of your Nosferatu gig?
N: 'Nosferatu' is on CD and it's a great live show. I think that's the way to see and hear it.
D: Nash, one last thing I want to ask you: what advice would you give to the young struggling indie artists out there? The world of music bizz is changing very rapidly-in five to ten years form now, who knows what the music industry will be like with the technology and internet etc. what’s your prediction and what words of encouragement would you leave behind for all those reading this today who are themselves struggling artists in the music ‘bizz’?
N: A few years ago I drafted a handbook called 'How to Get Started in the Music Biz, and Survive'. When I read it today, the info is either out of date or very non-specific. Just because I did things my way doesn't mean anyone else can follow this path. As an independent musician and record company for over 25 years, I can say that the key to my independence is by not signing to major record companies. I still own all of my music. In the case of 'Children of the Night', an LP I did for Virgin records in 1981, I bootlegged my own LP to put it on CD. Years ago,Virgin was sold to EMI which was then gobbled up by Time-
Warner. Do you really think that Ted Turner could care less about my little CD? Does Time-Warner have any bonus tracks in the vault? Can Cut-Throat do it better? No, No and Yes!
We all know that the mainstream music biz is crumbling under its own weight because they can't afford to put out recordings that don't sell more than a skillion copies. As the Internet becomes more user-friendly, artists can sell their own music (or marmalade for that matter) directly to a specific audience. I don't have a distributor because I can sell more CDs at gigs and through the internet than anyone can sell through a music store. Play from the heart, go for the throat and listen in safety!
D: Nash, thanks a million for taking this time with us! In my opinion, no struggling indie artist, especially in the alternative genre should
go without taking some time to read your story! It’s an inspiration to all of us Nash, and you are a cult classic in your own right! And…please hang around for a long time yet!
-Mason